The Last Piece
by Wildeve of the Heath
Summary: Other than Hanji's disheveled appearance, everything looked normal, everything; even as Rivaille approached she opened her eyes to greet him with a weary smile, though a happy one at that. [CHARACTER DEATH. ONE SHOT. IMPLIED LEVIHAN]


I do not own Shingeki no Kyojin

Other than Hanji's disheveled appearance, everything looked normal, everything; even as Rivaille approached she opened her eyes to greet him with a weary smile, though a happy one at that.

**A/N:** This is just pure angst, a thought came to me and, well, I wanted a break from "A Change of Gait" and "Unfettered". Prepare to cry your eyes out, you have been warned.

*goes to cry in a corner*

Oh god, what have I written?

**WARNING:** Angst, multiple character deaths

* * *

Their prey were strewn across the forest floor, their bodies vaporizing and emanating a thick haze that covered their line of sight. The farthest Rivaille could see were a couple trees here and there, but passed that was impossible. Erwin called back whatever was left of his squad, perching them on one branch, ordering for them to wait until the smoke had cleared.

He counted twenty bodies, most of which were felt by his own hands. It would be a while until the mist settled down.

Rivaille brought his eyes left, right, around him. These were men and women from Hanji's squad. None of his own made it, they were slaughtered one by one, typical as he would be the one closest to danger; they followed him forward, unrelenting until they were snatched from horseback or taken from flight.

Few of Erwin's men (and women) were alive and well, though most of them were the trainees. All were together, it seems, as though they had merged at one point during their foray of the forest.

Tiredly, he walked to each of those closest to them, his gaze silently congratulating their survival. Armin perked up at him when he paused before his presence; this boy was with Hanji's team the last he saw them.

"Where is she?" Were the first words he spoke.

Rivaille didn't have to explain who she was, it was as though they knew who he was referring to. _'She'_ could have meant Petra, Mikasa, Sasha, any of them, but they knew better; he knew they knew, the look in their eyes was all he needed. Armin said nothing, only stared at him with glassy eyes. His mouth opened, nothing was uttered.

"Rivaille, over here. Come," Erwin's voice came from amongst them. He pushed by Sasha and beckoned him. Rivaille was hesitant to move but he had to show a strong face to them, to all of them.

He brushed by Armin and followed the Commander's retreating back.

As the pair went on, they cleared a path for them, stepping aside.

It was as though their bodies were covering a sight he dreaded to see; with each person moving back, his heart thudded harder in his chest. He grew anxious though his face was as still as stone, trying to hide his fear. He was the strongest of them all, he had to show it, had to keep it. When the last person shifted away, Rivaille swore he heard her say,"I tried to tell her."

_Try? Try what?_

It was Petra. Rivaille paused, his eyes were set on her rather than Erwin's back.

He could taste metal in the air, his nose caught wind of the blood splashed over Petra, as though she had been dunked in the head with it. It wasn't Titan blood as the cloth of her cloak had been stained red.

"Tell her what?" He asked, voice even.

"She got too close when we warned her," she softly explained, though she had tears streaming down her face. Auruo stood by her, despite their differences, he brought an arm over her shoulder. She was pulled into his chest as the usually cynical man gave her comfort."She knew, she knew, she _knew_! That idiot..."

She began to sob violently, it occurred to Rivaille that she wasn't the only one despite her being the loudest of all.

"Rivaille," Erwin called to him when he gotten too far. Rivaille pulled his eyes away from Petra and Auruo as he caught up to Erwin.

To him, the branch felt like it could go on for miles, the walk felt long. In the reality, it held enough space for only two dozen soldiers, they were crowded enough as it is. The mist had bunched all around him, dispersing and covering his vision. It wasn't until he reached the trunk that it was slightly clear to him. Erwin had stopped, Rivaille's heart dropped to the floor when he saw _her._

She was propped against the trunk.

She looked like she was sleeping, simply resting with her head lolled to the side as her goggles were worn upon her forehead; her hair had been let down, the tie may have snapped off at one point. Her Gear was propped up as well due to her knees bent upwards to keep them in place.

Other than her disheveled appearance, everything looked normal, everything; even as he approached she opened her eyes to greet him with a weary smile, though a happy one at that.

"There you are," she gently chuckled.

He dropped to one knee. "Why the fuck are you sleeping?"

His brashness, it was all he could figure to put his thoughts to words.

Hanji shrugged. "Middle of a forest, a nice mist, makes everything looks so dreamy. Hadn't you ever taken a moment to appreciate it?"

"No, now get up, we're going."

There was something terribly wrong, he could sense it. Why else would several Scouts be bawling behind him?

"I can't," she somberly told him. She threw a glance down at her waist, then back up at him. He couldn't see any blood, but that was only because her cloak covered most of her lower half. "A Titan grabbed me...ended up taking a bite on spine, it's a miracle I'm still alive at all. Armin and Mikasa came by, took the bastard out before he could eat me whole-"

"You can still move though," he interrupted.

Paralysis, loss of limb, everything was a risk in their line of work, and there were ways to rehabilitate her afterwards. He couldn't understand why they are not leaving with Hanji being carried by someone. He could carry her if needed, he wouldn't mind the extra weight; even if she was an annoying piece of shit he'd still be there, they were comrades.

The value of life was high to Rivaille. He was indifferent in his expressions but, as a human, he had empathy.

"Rivaille, my legs can't function," Hanji blatantly said,"even if I try to Maneuver out of here I'd end up falling."

"Then we'll take you on our shoulders," he said.

She shook her head.

The thoughts of leaving her here were outlandish.

"Look down there," she instructed. He done so.

The vapors from corpses began to fade, revealing only more Titans that had appeared; they were gathering to their tree because the humans themselves were gathered in one place. They could have left in the midst of the rolling steam but it the blinding air would have hindered their movements greatly. He went back to her to kneel at her front.

"Eren's passed out from fighting, so we can't use him to distract them. When you use your Gears, you're gong to have a low arch when you try to get to the bottom. With that many Titans gathered there, you can't really go on without getting snatched. Everyone's nearly out of gas so there's no time to waste fighting what you can..."

He took her words in carefully.

It began to dawn on him that they were planning on leaving her.

They didn't want to. He didn't want to. She damn well didn't want to be alone either.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He said, though his heart was pounding at this.

She barked out a laugh. "Do I have any other use to humanity at this point?"

He had seen so many die before him, so many die in his hands, so many to make a man ago mad; why was he reluctant to let her go now?

He didn't. He simply couldn't.

"Yes, you still do. You and that fucked up mind of yours are the only things getting us closer to the end of this mess. Get up, I'm not dealing with the bullshit of you being left behind for some cliche tale of a fallen soldier," he grunted. He leaned close to her and wrapped his arms around her back, taking it under her armpits. She yelped as he began to haul her up.

A protest came from Erwin,"Rivaille, don't, the tree is all that's holding her together-"

And then a sickening slosh came from her body.

Screams rose from the crowd.

_Didn't she say a Titan took a chunk of her back?_

He looked down to see her waist barely holding to her body by the skin of her belly. From where he stood, the innards of a human being dangled under him like she had been recently gutted. His mind froze at this, the weight of her Gear was holding the other half of her body down. Without a cover, he saw an organ slip out of her. This was where the blood came from, the blood he had see on Petra.

"Please...put me down, you're scaring the kids," he heard Hanji say, to accentuate this he heard someone vomiting in the background; her arms were deadweight at his sides.

Something else slipped out of her and plopped onto the branch they stood on.

He placed her back to the trunk of the tree.

"How're you still alive?" He breathed incredulously as his hands went to her shoulders to keep her in proper place.

"I dunno," she said with a shrug. Her hand slowly came up, her face contorted in pain as though she were hefting two horses with one limb. He reached to her hand and she feebly directed it to the edge of the branch. One pull and she could tumble over, just one pull. "It's like asking a Titan why it regenerates." She rested her head against the tree. She hummed thoughtfully. "I guess...this can be my last experiment."

"You got to be fucking kidding," he uttered, throat dry. He swallowed air when he began to process that she was beyond saving. Not even the medics would be able to help. She was too maimed to even stand, let alone lift an arm for herself. "You're going to die...and you're thinking about running a test anyway."

She nodded. "Die doing what I love doing, right?"

Rivaille reached for her hand, the one that held to the edge. "You hate them, I know you do. See? Look at what your bullshit's led you to. I told you before, and..."

He wasn't going to scold her like he always had, not with the look she was suddenly giving him. Normally she'd protest and jest at him whenever he took to his ranting, but she was quiet.

Hanji didn't laugh, her smile ebbed away. Her eyes drifted around, passed him and to the others behind him. He looked over his shoulders. They were planning on going, their hands were already holding their blades; they were waiting for her to fall, to buy them the needed time to live. Even those who were crying, those who were grim, they had their priorities sorted out.

Erwin stood nearby but he offered no word.

"They want to go home," he heard Hanji say,"don't keep them waiting."

Was Petra crying over Hanji's inevitable fate or was she crying over the fact that she knew they were to leave her?

He was the only one who apparently didn't know of this.

He was about to say something, to speak up and ask if they were planning on it. Fate was funny, fate was kind, and fate was utterly cruel. It was all by chance.

As though to snap him out, he heard her tell him and him alone,"Rivaille...at least I'm not doing this alone."

He whipped his head back to face her as her expression contorted in pain for a few moments. "What-?"

With a straggled groan, she hauled herself over the edge even as his hand held to hers. Somehow, by the slick of her blood, he lost his grip on her and he watched her slip out of sight and down towards the forest floor. His hand managed to take a hold of her cloak yet the button snapped, letting her limp body hurtle faster for the green earth.

Eyes wide, his hand held to the last piece he had of her.

A bloodied Recon Corps cloak.

Time felt like it stopped for him despite hearing the sound of a dozen cables being released.

As he knelt at the edge with the cloak at hand, he saw the others leave at the corner of his eye.

"Sir, we have to leave, now!" Armin cried out, utilizing his Gear. Others were taking to his word, even Erwin had taken off. Rivaille couldn't remember if he heard Erwin shout orders to retreat, he felt deaf. He didn't dare to look down.

Slowly, he got his his feet. His hands wrapped the newly acquired cloak over his own, a second layer to himself but there was no other way to carry it. He turned away to face the direction where he saw the others fleeing. Just as her, he took a step for the edge but then his boot stepped upon a mass of blood that had fell from Hanji's body when he lifted her up. He stepped back upon its discovery.

He stood there alone, watching Erwin from a distance.

The Commander stalled, a few trees away, waiting for him.

"Rivaille!" He called, though the Corporal ignored him.

He stooped low, hand examining the odd mass. Something in him, despite all sanitary reasons and normal callings, told him to touch. His fingers roved over it.

It didn't look like a digestive organ nor did it look like any other part of the body he had seen in his life.

Then there was a small bump in the midst of it.

His heart hammered in his chest; this was the final, physical piece of her.

Cautiously, he pinched back a few folds of the flesh-like substance, only to discover a small treasure within. It was half the size of his hand with little limbs that hung dead at its sites. It was unmoving though vessels gleamed over it like ruby rivers, a cord protruded from the center of its belly, it disappeared into the folds.

A fetus.

She dropped a fetus.

His finger went to its tiny hand, expecting it to twitch to show any signs of life.

Dead.

_She thought she died with it inside her body._

He withdrew his hand and unwrapped her cloak from his shoulders. He brunched it up over his hands and gently wrap it around the bloodied mess. He wasn't going to let it stay there alone, it didn't have a say in it, not like the mother. Something in him convinced him that there was a chance for it, that this piece of her was the last form of existence she had in this world.

Even as he was perched on the branch alone, holding it to his chest, he could hear Petra's sobs. She was long gone in the distance but she struck him the hardest.

Petra may have known, surely she did. Her hysteria was enough to prove it.

* * *

**A/N:** Whether or not the child is Rivaille's, I leave it up to your imaginations.


End file.
